This season we’ve been working on two projects that remain confidential until release. So this eNewsletter will focus on the psychological perception of brands and include a behind the scenes story of the conception of the world's first flying car.
Then there is the glimpse into my world: a different perspective on the King's Road, London.
Enjoy, Will
Foam model
1:5 clay model
Gilo and Will
Testing SkyCar
News/eNewsletter/Issue 10/SkyCar/
If you had looked up to the skies, or even, any one of ten TV News channels on the 13th January you would have seen the Parajet SkyCar. Imagine Doc Brown from the 'Back To The Future' trilogy and you have a good idea what Gilo Cardozo is like. Gilo is the 29 year old inventor of the Parajet SkyCar and he's currently on a journey from London to Tomboutou, with intrepid explorer Neil Laughton, on the SkyCar Expedition.
This is all happening now, but Gilo's idea came from way back in the 20th century when he was growing up. I remeber meeting Gilo in 2005, at which point he had been running the paramotoring company Parajet for five years and I had just sold my share of Toniq, the lightweight sports car company that I'd set up with fellow students at the University of Huddersfield.
I was down visiting my inventor friend as I was working on another idea of my own and he mentioned his SkyCar dream. By the end of the night in Gilo's small factory I had grasped his concept and mocked him up a small foam model to help him visualise the SkyCar. Soon after, I created a 1:5 scale clay model for Gilo and then introduced him to Rage Motorsports who produce hand made, high performance off-road buggies that I assured Gilo would be an ideal platform for the first round of prototypes for the fully working flying car. An added bonus was that they did 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 130mph - so the SkyCar would be pretty nippy too!
Through 2006-2008 Gilo and his team worked on developing the SkyCar to completion whilst I went off travelling "Around the World in 80 Handbags." On my return I was delighted to hear the great news that Parajet had teamed up with legendary aviation expert Mike Campbell-Jones (owner of Paramania) to develop the all-important wing that would allow the SkyCar to fly at speeds of up to 70mph in the air. This 34 square metre wing was the technological catalyst that set the SkyCar off - without Mike's pioneering design and use of the latest materials the SkyCar would never have taken off.
Along the way Gilo faced much resistance from people within the industry telling him it couldn't be done, but with maverick grit and determination he was able to use that resistance to lift his spirit above the negativity. In just the same way that an aircraft wing uses resistance to create lift!
After two years of developing the SkyCar, and with just three months left to go until the first flight, Gilo and his engineers were stuck on the problem of how to adapt the driver’s foot-well to include the existing three road use pedals and include the two foot powered control lines for steering the SkyCar in flight. By this time I had re-located our Ideas, Branding, Marketing & Design business to an office located next to Parajet (by now a fee paying client) and with a fresh view of the situation I wondered down and mentioned that they might try leaving the driver’s foot-well alone - right hand drive - and position the aircraft controls in the passenger foot-well - left hand drive. "Brilliant!" remarked Gilo, and that is how it is now. So if you’re driving along, you sit on the right hand-side. And if you want to fly you swap seats, controlling the aircraft from the left hand side - similar to all other aircraft including helicopters and Boeing 747s.
Gilo then went on to solve a couple of other minor problems alone… such as how to change over the power from the 130hp engine from driving mode to flight mode and where to attach a ballistic parachute!
More and more of the work that I do is about branding and so in this newsletter, we are looking at that vital part of a business that comes even before we think of the colour or shape of a logo. The name. There are millions of names in the world; but they all come down to three types:
• One • Literal (WillBaxter.com, Post Office, OakTree Joinery)
• Two • Emotional (innocent, Virgin, Toniq)
• Three • Random (Lexus, Vertu, Eon)
• Method One • The literal method is the most used - it’s simple and direct. Formerly, when people sustained themselves within a village, everyone had a trade - butcher, baker and brand maker - they just used their names.
• Method Two • The emotional method came about a long time later - beyond the straight forward age and into a time when terms such as "lifestyle" and "ambience" appeared. Emotion is a powerful branding tool when used correctly. It can be beneficial when clients already associate with the word and so familiarity is already inherent with your new brand. The downside is there could also be negative personal associations, or worse still, you might get forgotten.
Another way is to twist a word. When I set up the sports car company I started with Tonic and changed it to Toniq: it’s different and stands out.
• Method Three • The random (doesn't relate to the product/service) route is the most exciting! Yet it is also the most complicated to get right. Think about your market: who are you trying to attract? If you are selling stock reams of A4 paper there is no point conjuring up a name like "Fillico" because people buying paper aren't doing so with their heart. However, try selling a luxury £50,000 car and you will find that a name like Lexus appeals more than a literal name like Luxury.
Random names can root into the human psyche: we all want to know more! Take Eon: at first, many thought the name was mere marketing tosh but others wanted to know what it stood for. Suggestions included "Energy On", "Electricity on demand" while others thought it was "a star that has lasted for an infinite period of time." In this instance, it doesn't really matter which one it actually stands for - just as long as the customers are happy to associate the name with something they think is suitable, they can understand, and ideally, remember.
Since so much of my recent work is currently confidential, it’s an opportunity to illustrate how I view the world and bring it to my work… your work actually.
I was invited to an event the evening before. On seeing how the venue management conveyed their clear message of "enjoy yourself" to their male clientele in the toilets, I was amused and my think-buds were tickled with the simplicity and appeal of their idea (see picture 1). So I cleared the rest of the morning after a breakfast meeting to take time out to wander, observe and think. For me, this kind of personal time is an attractive and essential part of my work. Space and creativity bring freshness into what I do for others.
Having met the head of Unilever Brand Development in a restaurant on Sloane Square, I set off around some back streets. I came across the estate agents, “CHAMPIONS" who were touting some exclusive apartments - up to £3,500 per week - in their windows. Someone working there had thought this one through and in the entrance (closed as it was a Sunday) was a postcard stand (see picture 2) with postcards with photographs and details of the apartments that were letting. Simple. Effective. And appealing to their kind of clients! I took one… a postcard, not an expensive let, that is).
This started me collecting clever pieces of design from the city. Next stop was the new Saatchi gallery. I wondered in with last night’s flying goggles (see picture 6) back on to my head. Why? Well, if you could be accepted for looking a bit odd anywhere in London, it was definitely the Saatchi gallery. Tricked by the signage into thinking I was going to the educational centre I ended up in the shop (doh!) where I thumbed through the beautifully put together books on various artists. Picking one up (I forget the name) I noticed a photo of a room that contained only red objects. WOW! (see picture 3) Great branding, I thought, and promised myself WB.com yellow paint throughout my own office! Come and see me and see what I mean.
I asked a man on the street if we were near Saville Row, because last week I watched the documentary on the fashion designer, Oswald Boateng and wanted to check out his work first hand. My friendly stranger, glancing at my goggles, said “No” but instead, kindly directed me there. I wandered on with charcoal grey Porsches steaming up the King’s Road and elegant aristocrat’s daughters gliding down in the opposite direction. Until 1829 the Kings Road was a private royal road leading from Hampton Court to the Palace at Westminster, and only those with a Kings’ pass could use it. The Kings Road today is a busy artery, packed with fashion shops full with young people looking for designer items. A luxury brand designer heaven. I popped into Bang & Olufsen (B&O). The shop attendant looked at me expectantly but remained dispassionate about her product, so I soon left.
On, with my thoughts. I’d been in the Jersey store of B&O just a month ago where I had an extended conversation with the salesman, he was so enthusiastic about their technology, openly talking about the competitors brands, that he paid no notice to the fact that I didn’t know my tweeters from my turntables. On this King’s Road occasion, with a lacklustre salesperson I was left in the cold – I just wanted to get a hold of the B&O CEO and shake him until he woke up and realised how much damage his lack of empowerment within all his staff was doing to his brand! I hoped he'd be enthused enough to change his ways so that each one of his salespersons were as engaging as the one in Jersey.
Some years ago, I had beenhad taken to the Blue Bird Restaurant where we had eaten chips and champagne. So I thought I’d revisit, except this time, alone, I went to the ground floor shop. Hmmm. YES: space. This 100,000 square foot area was so well visually merchandised that it would do Kim Kattrell proud (from the film Manekin) and to my right I see hundreds of light bulbs hanging (see picture 4) from the ceiling with an eclectic selection deemed fit enough to be lit. I'm impressed, they have taken a simple household item, collected various styles, various ages of them but kept the same colour and the same base, to create this startling field of light. Simple, elequent, talented, I wonder how I could apply that to my current project?
As I wonder along the street in hope of a tube station I pass a dazzle of historic streets, popping in and out until I happen into a crystal shop where I hear a voice, camper than Dale Winter in a tent. He’s reading some tarot cards: “Fabulous Darling,” and I wonder, am I back in LA? Back out and into the next: a tall elegant building in charcoal grey and trimmed with teal green around the windows. Colours. Combinations. I’m questioning what works (just as I do at any moment – recently: twilight in the snow). Walking on, the next shop front holds a huge clock that runs very fast backwards. (see picture 5) Big Ben on it’s knees, at our level. A landmark. Great product differeation from their competitors if I ever saw one... but I’m not sure what they were selling. Doesn’t matter what the image looks like: if your client remembers the look but forgets the product, all you’ve done is help with their interior design. (Later research let's me know that this shop is actually where Malcolm Mclaren opened a rock boutique and actually launched "The Sex Pistols" from the shop in 1975.)
Incidentally, I wore the goggles as I was on the door welcoming guests to the Battersea Brage party and then giving “Around the World in 80 Handbags” branded tickets to publicize my book. After the event I collected the email addresses of all attendees from the party organiser, a friend, and sent out an email, reminding them of their unique tickets. Each one had a different picture on it, of people and their handbags. This approach provided a talking point, so hopefully, not just the guests, but also their friends are now aware of my brand and the book. Not a random punt, but an event selected for having the right target audience for the book: educated late twenties/early thirties, well travelled and open to new ideas.
2010 
